Tough Love
by F91
Summary: Alternate ending to deathcurse's Fortune Knocks But Once fic. You can't run away from the truth. You have to face it, even if it hurts.


This picks up right where deathcurse's Fortune Knocks But Once left off.

* * *

"I'm back…" Vice sighed as he gently shut the door to the apartment behind him. The round trip to the far off planet had taken a lot out of him and he was looking forward to collapsing onto his bed.

He didn't get very far before he saw an orange bolt collide with his chest and wrap her arms around him.

"Where have you been?" Teana looked up at him and to his horror he saw she was crying. "You just left without saying anything!"

"I… uh… Sorry…" Vice was admittedly extremely weak to her tears. That such a strong woman could appear to be so fragile like that left him at a loss.

"I was so worried…" Teana buried her face into his chest again. "I thought you wouldn't come back… Subaru left and if you left me too, I…"

"I'd never do that…" Vice wanted to kill himself for being the one to reduce her to this. Was he in such a hurry that he couldn't have left her a note? "I'm really sorry. I went to take care of some important business."

"What could…?"

"I saw Subaru."

Teana backed away from him and stared in shock. "Why would you…?"

"We had a few things to discuss." Vice said. "I had intended to drag her back here if needed, but…"

"You didn't have to do that…"

"Of course I did!" He said with a bit of force. "I had to do something! I can't stand idly by and watch you be torn up over this!"

Teana hung her head and silence permeated the entrance way.

"… How was she doing?" Teana asked eventually.

"Well enough, considering." He answered. "Seems to have adapted to the job quite well."

"I see…" Teana made another lengthy pause before continuing. "… I… I did a lot of thinking while you were away…"

"About what?"

"Everything. Subaru, you… me… This whole thing was just too sudden and it left my head spinning. It's kind of funny considering I can come up with dozens of strategies in a moment's notice on the battlefield, but in my personal life… I accused Subaru of not knowing how I felt, but I didn't have any idea how I felt either."

"Well, did you figure it out?" Vice asked cautiously.

"When I found out Subaru had been serious about me, the desolate look on her face really got to me. I couldn't stand seeing her like that, so I thought that if I could make myself love her back, it would stop her suffering."

"If that's what you want to do, I wouldn't stop you." Vice added solemnly.

"Huh?"

"I'd have to resist the urge to tie you up and keep you all to myself, but if you wanted to be happy with Subaru, I wouldn't stop you. I'd only ask you leave as soon as possible so you didn't see me cry like a child…"

"Wait!" Teana reached out and grabbed his hand. "Let me finish. I thought if I loved her then she wouldn't go away and that she would be happy, but I couldn't do it. I thought back to all the times she said she loved me, those times I thought she was joking around, and I realised that I hadn't been affected. I might have been embarrassed she said it so openly, but I didn't think 'I wish she wasn't joking' or anything like that."

Teana took a breath before going on. "When I think of that what if now, I know the answer. What if I had taken Subaru's confessions seriously? I would have been honest and told her I didn't feel the same way. She is an important person to me, but she's my best friend. I don't love her that way."

"I see." Vice whispered, trying hard not to seem too relieved.

"I'm sorry for doubting us." Teana sighed before leaning against him again. "Subaru was right. When you asked me out, I said yes. When you asked me to be your girlfriend, I said yes. When you asked me to marry you, I said yes. I thought long and hard before I made those important decisions and I said yes because I was certain that I love you and want to be with you."

"I love you too." Vice wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "I won't deny that I'm overjoyed to hear your decision, but what are you going to do about Subaru?"

"… I'm going to go see her." Teana decided. "I need to set things straight once and for all."

X-X-X

Subaru frowned when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching her from behind.

"I thought we had reached an understanding, Vice-san." The cyborg said bluntly.

"You haven't reached one with me."

"Tea!" Subaru gasped as she whirled around. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question." Teana shot back.

"You know the reason."

"Trying to get over me, right? Did you really need to come out to this god forsaken place to do that?"

"That was my choice to make." Subaru muttered. "There's no reason for you to be here."

"I came here to tell you something."

"I don't want to hear it." Subaru turned her back. "It's not like I don't know what you're going to say anyways. Go home and start planning your wedding already!"

It was than that Subaru felt a hand grab her shoulder and spin her around. This was followed by Teana's fist connecting with her head. Subaru slumped to the ground and looked up in shock.

"T-Tea?"

"Vice told me, you know. You said you could either angst over me and keep hoping or move on right? You said that three star-systems and ten years would help you move on? Don't give me that crap!" Teana reached down and pulled the other girl up by the collar. "Once I regained my wits, it was clear what you're doing. By coming out here you're just running away!"

"That's not…"

"It is true! Instead of staying behind on Mid and facing the fact that I'm together with Vice, you ran off to this place so you wouldn't have to deal with it. I'm not going to let you run away anymore. I…"

"I don't want to hear it!" Subaru shot back. "I said it already, didn't I? I know you love Vice-san, not me, so you don't have to say it!"

"Yes, I have to!" Teana barked. "If I don't you won't stop hoping."

"I'm not…"

"You are! You keep saying you know my feelings, but deep down you recognise the possibility that you're wrong and that gives you hope. You don't want to give up that hope, do you? That's why you ran out here so I couldn't squash it!"

Subaru opened her mouth, but quickly shut it. Deep down she knew Teana was right. She wanted to live in ignorance on this little planet and not completely recognise the reality of her friend's feelings.

"Subaru, you are a very important person in my life. You're my oldest and dearest friend and we've been through so much together. You're some one I trust with my life who can never be replaced by anyone. I do love you, but it's as my best friend, as the sister I never had. I'm sorry, but I can't love you the way you want me to. The one I love that way has always been Vice."

Having it all laid out for her like that certainly hurt just as much as Subaru knew it would. Even though the cyborg had told herself that so many times, hearing it directly from the horse's mouth made it completely real.

"I… I told you I knew that!" Subaru began sobbing. "I always knew that…"

"I really hate having to hurt you like this," Teana said with a soft expression. "But it's for the best. I know you, Subaru. I know how strong you are and I know you'll be able to pick yourself back up. I just wanted to make my feelings clear so neither of us will dwell on any what ifs."

Subaru continued to cry, but she still felt a feeling of relief that everything was finally out in the open. Even though she was rejected, the feeling of closure was enough for her to view the end of this chapter in her life positively. It felt that much easier to move on.

"Thank you, Tea." She sniffed. "I'm sorry I was such an idiot…"

"You're still the idiot I want to be my maid of honour," Teana said. "When you feel you're ok with it, of course."

"I don't want to hold things up…"

"It's ok." Teana smiled. "We've decided to just sign the papers for now. I refuse to have the actual ceremony without you there."

"But it will still take ten years for my contract to be up…"

"That's the funny thing with electronic contracts." Teana grinned. "People tend to over look things. I had Shari-san take a look at it, and she 'found' a clause that states you can opt out of the contract at any time you wish."

"You…" Subaru sighed in defeat and smiled slightly. "That's my Tea, always so stubborn in getting what she wants."

"You know it." Teana smiled back.

The pain was still fresh, but Subaru was certain it would fade with time. One day she would be there to see her friend walk down the aisle and from the bottom of her heart she would be able to say

"Congratulations!"

* * *

I guess you could consider this the "unrealistically happy ending", but meh. That's just the kind of ending I wrote :)

This is the first time I've ever tried to work off of some one else's fics, so I'm not sure if everything lines up ^^" Well, I got deathcurse's approval, so I must have done something right! :D A big thanks to her for writing such interesting fics and allowing me to write this based off them.

I hope you liked this alternate ending of mine :)


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